I have always wanted a word for “caffeine crash”, that horrible feeling you get when you don’t even think you could make it to the office break room for that live saving cup of coffee or mountain dew. You know those times, when you have to stand up at work or there will be snores emanating from your little cubicle.
Well, now we have that word – and it is called Carabao. you can even mutter it easily through sleep-slurred lips, as it “Oh gharravooe, I so tirrred!” Carabao is, not surprisingly, an energy drink as well – although it may be a bit too generous to call it an energy drink. It might have the outward appearance of one, and even say as much on the label. It is, in fact, Monster Energy drink flavored pancake syrup.

Nutrition/Buzz:4
This little beast has over 35 grams of sugar in its stubby 8.5 ounce can. That’s more than you would get from just about every other energy drink out there, including Coke (about 23 grams in 8 ounces), Red Bull (26 grams). Since a teaspoon of sugar weighs about 4 grams, 1.2 ounces of this drink is nothin but sugar.
Now I LOVE sugar – nothing wrong with it. But just like chugging Log Cabin, you have to expect repercussions. IN this case, the 50mg of caffeine adds for a great and excitable rush – followed by one of the sleepiest energy crashes you will ever have.
Fortunately I was able to chew 2 Foosh mints to fight back this onslaught of yawns which threatened snores from my cubicle. So if you want to ride this roller coaster be prepared for the MMA style fight with the sandman.

Packaging:8
Of course the awesome packaging is hard to fight getting. Dark green with a big longhorn skull on it. There is probably some philosophical and high-falootin reason why this Thai drink has a little red bird outlined on this awesome skull – but regardless it definitely adds to the cool factor. It is so cool, it is almost irresistible. And being found in Asian stores adds to the mystique too. With just enough English on it to lure you into its web of energy, there is little hope of resistance. The cute stubbiness adds to the charm too – looking very much like a soda, only somehow stunted and cute – in a miniature poodle kind of way.

Taste:8
But then you upend the can and have a problem. Yes, it tastes good – very very good in fact, but you also get the idea you actually are drinking a liquid jelly, or are sucking the heavy syrup the use with pineapple slices. And like eating a very good but tiny pastry, you cant stop yourself. This drink is gone in mere seconds, and you feel like you must brush your teeth, or at least get some strong coffee to help wash it all down with. Their combination of sticking with a basic energy drink flavor, but sweetening it to the point of liquid candy works. I just wish this was lightly carbonated – as I was expecting it to be that way, looking like a soda and all.

Website:7
For a site using archaic means to be buit (they used Imageready image slices and left Macromedia Dreamweaver tags everywhere) This site is current and updated, with great info, news, pictures and stories. Of course, everything is in Thai, but if you could read it you would probably know all of what is going on.

There is an English option to view the site in, but they haven’t updated that side of their site in AGES, if ever. Nothing really works, and is definitely not very cool.